US utility Xcel seeks solar and storage proposals to replace retiring coal plant

By JP Casey
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US electric utility Xcel Energy has launched a request for proposals (RFP) for solar and battery storage projects to replace its Allen S. King coal-fired power plant in the US state of Minnesota.

Xcel Energy is keen to replace the coal plant with a new 650MW solar project, or ones “that combine solar with energy storage, such as batteries”, as the utility puts it.

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The Allen S. King plant has produced electricity since 1958, and through the RFP, Xcel will replace this facility with a renewable project that will contribute to the company’s decarbonisation goals. These targets reducing its carbon emissions by 85% compared to 2005 levels by 2030, and retiring all of its coal-fired power plants by the same year.

The proposed solar project will also have a larger capacity than the soon-to-be retired coal plant, which boasts a capacity of 598MW, as the utility looks to not only replace its fossil fuel capacity with renewables, but increase its total power output.

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